Brian Lawton: 2025 candidate for Libertyville Elementary District 70 board

Bio

Office sought: Libertyville Elementary District 70 (Vote for 4)

City: Libertyville

Age: 44

Occupation: Stay-at-home parent

Previous offices held: Libertyville Elementary District 70 board member since 2021

Why are you running for this office? Is there a particular issue that motivates you?

As an incumbent, I am running to provide my four years of experience and dedication to the District 70 board and have the opportunity to oversee the continued progress our community expects. With so much uncertainty at the federal level, I have the knowledge and desire to ensure the district’s students and staff always receive the best we have to offer.

What is the role of the school board in setting and monitoring the curriculum?

The district’s Assistant Superintendent of Teaching, Learning, and Assessments, along with staff members, are charged with identifying and piloting any new curriculum needed. Board members review the information given along the way while asking questions and providing feedback and/or suggestions.

I trust the district’s experts to recommend a curriculum that adheres to state standards and will provide the best educational experience and outcomes for the district’s students. After reviewing their choice, board members use their voice by voting to approve or deny the recommended path.

Are there curriculum issues within the district that you feel need particular attention from the board?

The district utilizes a continued process of review and updating where needed and I do not believe there is anything specific that the board should have to immediately address.

Because of these internal practices, the board recently approved new English and Language Arts curriculum to align with the science of reading and is starting to see positive results.

As part of this ongoing process, District 70’s dedicated staff are currently piloting and reviewing a potential new middle school science curriculum as well.

How do you view your role in confronting policy or curriculum controversies: provide leadership even if unpopular, give a voice to constituents — even ones with whom you disagree, or defer to state authorities?

I understand this as a balancing act at times, which is what being an elected official is about. I am there to provide a voice for all our constituents.

Even when disagreements may occur, listening and understanding where someone is coming from is extremely important before casting votes or suggesting change. In providing that voice, the opinion of state and local authorities must be accounted for as well.

Often mandates or laws will guide the direction one must take, and in those times robust communication is required. When a vote occurs on something seen as controversial, a board member should be honest, explain their position, and cast their vote.

In what is a team leadership role, regardless of my stated and voted position, after a vote occurs I will execute the results to the best of my ability.

Describe your experience working in a group setting to determine policy. What is your style in such a setting to reach an agreement and manage school district policy? Explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions for your school board.

School policy has become near and dear to my heart as I am a member of our board’s recently formed policy committee.

This committee has streamlined how our board works on policy updates and has allowed us to quickly approve mandated policies while also affording a more targeted approach to those that require more discussion.

My style of analyzing school policies has two large factors I consider before they are presented for approval: the legality of the content and a reflection of the community’s desires.

Through those two lenses, I review policies to focus on how they can provide the best outcomes for all the students of our district. Using the entire student body to evaluate a policy leads me to a greater understanding of its contents and to better explain its purpose.

What is your assessment of the school district's diversity and equity efforts? Do you support the continuation or enhancement of such programs, of would you rather see them diminished. Please explain your reasoning.

I am glad this question was posed this way instead of using an acronym that has been given varied definitions. Breaking it down to individual words provides a better understanding of what I believe. Yes, I support the continuation of efforts to promote diversity and equity.

Diversity, especially in an educational setting, is always a good thing. It provides a better reflection of our nation and world and offers wider opportunities to learn about those around you.

Equity is essentially what free public education was founded on. Providing opportunities for all children to thrive is what our system is supposed to do. It is the reason public schools provide services like Individualized Education Plans, enrichment or gifted services, and blended classroom settings in addition to robust educational programs.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

I bring with me the experience to continue the amazing work this board has accomplished during my tenure. We hired a new superintendent, approved a balanced budget, oversaw needed updates to district buildings, approved large scale updates to building security, expanded the preschool program, and have seen student proficiencies go up while demographic achievement gaps have shrunk.

District 70 has been on a steady upward trend that is reflected across the many school rating sites. I am the right choice to help continue that trajectory for four more years as your representative on the board of education.

What’s one good idea you have to better your district that no one is talking about yet?

Although I imagine others are talking about this, we should work with the Illinois Association of School Board’s policy department in creating more robust policies regarding Artificial Intelligence.

Although it has been around for longer than most people realize, AI is now permeating every walk of life and will continue to have an effect on public education. We need to ensure we have a structure in place to address both the potential troubles and benefits of what AI can bring to the public education setting; securing information, cheating, how to analyze and spot generative content, how to use it effectively, etc.

Having a robust policy will be needed to ensure that the district's staff has initial guidance in how the district will manage these critical issues.